A Picture Of Eiffel Tower Can Put You In Jail

Web Desk(July 12, 2018): Tourists taking photographs of a very popular tourist attraction could land themselves in jail if taking a picture of it at night, due to copyright infringement in place since 1985.

Tourists regularly snap photos of popular attractions around the world to commemorate their holiday abroad.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in the world is the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

It is one of the most prevalent images on Instagram as many heads to the romantic location for a picture.

What many may not realize is that taking an image and sharing it could land tourists in jail.

It all comes down to what time of day the photograph was taken. At night, a light show is performed on the tower which was created by a French artist who owns the copyright.

The lights were added to the tower in 1985, which flash every night until 1 am.

By sharing these images, tourists are breaching copyright laws and could be fined or sent to jail.

The FAQ of Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, who owns the tower explained that rights “must be obtained from the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel for the publication of photographs of the illuminated Eiffel Tower”.

Thankfully, no-one has ever been fined or punished for sharing images of the lit up tower.

With millions of photographs across the world, it would be a difficult issue to enforce on tourists.

People who use images of the Eiffel Tower at night commercially, however, should be aware of getting permission beforehand.

This could mean using them in magazines or on film posters.

The tower has gone dark over the years after the terrorist attacks in London and France in honor of the victims.